KVR Audio

Lotuzia · Post by **Lotuzia** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 1:30 pm

ENV1 wrote:Im sure you will see this kind of UI more and more. People want 'scalable vector UIs', its hot, its new, new sells, so there you go.

Unfortunately the whole thing has a flaw: Things have to be kept simple so the up- and downscaling process doesnt make the UI look like a blurry mess. The result is unicolors and simple shapes everywhere, otherwise the UI might not be able to 'survive' the scaling process without the whole thing looking like crap on sizes other than 'native'.

To be honest; i wouldnt do that. I much prefer the attractiveness of a UI that is made using static images that can be as complex as i wish them to be in terms of both colors and shape. As a developer that has to take increasingly extreme screen resolution differences into account i would therefore not go vector, but instead offer my UI in 3 fixed sizes (small/medium/large) so that it can be used on all screens without having to make quality compromises in the 'looks' department.

Simple +1. Scalable has its advantages, and 3 sizes, for example, have also a lot of advantages.

sinkmusic · Post by **sinkmusic** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 1:31 pm

Vector/scaleable GUIs requires some work for sure, but i have the feeling it is getting better and better : For instance, i find U-He and Klanghelm GUIs very good-looking and there are fully resizeable, so being resizeable doesn't always mean "sketchy looking" (well, i like plain & minimalistic GUIs, but it is something which needs to be well done).

I guess the Geist2 sketch posted in this thread is more or less a draft (so beta testers and coders can get familiar with it and know it better, find the flaws and strong points).
I think that the Strobe2 early designs had already the same layout, but the final GUI added hints of skeumorphisms and more eyecandy goodness.
Let's wait

sugo · Post by **sugo** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 1:36 pm

oh... off topic, sorry

wagtunes · Post by **wagtunes** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 1:37 pm

Just flat out ugly as sin. I would never buy it no matter how good it sounded. The GUI totally leaves me devoid of any desire to be creative with it.

I have to ask. What were they thinking?

Dasheesh · Post by **Dasheesh** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 1:59 pm

First off, this is just a preview of what they are working on as far as I'm aware, so lets save judgment for judgment day. Secondly they have a problem, form vs function, so lets try being constructive instead of destructive. It might be more helpful. Thirdly, I don't know of any other product like it without buying hardware soooo

wagtunes · Post by **wagtunes** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 2:06 pm

Dasheesh wrote:First off, this is just a preview of what they are working on as far as I'm aware, so lets save judgment for judgment day. Secondly they have a problem, form vs function, so lets try being constructive instead of destructive. It might be more helpful. Thirdly, I don't know of any other product like it without buying hardware soooo

Then if this isn't the finished design, why would they release a shot of it? What purpose could it possibly serve? It's a lose-lose all the way around.

If people hate this design,they may not give it a chance when it's released. If they like this design and the actual released one is different, they're likely to complain about that.

No good can come out of showing a product before it's actually ready for release.

Dasheesh · Post by **Dasheesh** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 2:10 pm

All they are doing is saying, hey we are working on it. And we are trying to bring it in line with our new look of strobe 2. The feedback has hopefully been helpful.

Apostate · Post by **Apostate** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 2:34 pm

I'm not wild about the gui, but all I can say is how delighted I am with Geist 1. I really love how easy it is to draw in and export rhythms.

I own a ton of drum machines and samplers, Geist is one of my favorites

sonicpowa · Post by **sonicpowa** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 3:02 pm

If they pay me the upgrade price of Geist2 I might use it with that ugly GUI mess.

mr_otoh · Post by **mr_otoh** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 3:11 pm

I like the interface, but there are a couple things that aren't quite right, that might be hard for some people to put their finger on but there is definitely a consensus happening.

1. Reduce contrast when not needed - some areas have higher contrast that is not helpful for focus. For example the "Pads patterns scenes song sampler mixer" row the unselected tabs use a font that is unnecessarily bright. Tone this down and let the selected tab draw more attention. Another example is the meters. The blank meters don't need to be *quite* so dark, on a light background they are too heavy visually. The demarcation lines between sections are also too dark, the edges of those sections, because they are so straight, can stand to be much lighter without any risk of the eye becoming confused. I find their weight currently dominates too much.

See how light the dividing lines are here, and still the eye has no trouble seeing the sections:

2. The engine modules currently alternate between white and a light grey (engine 4, 5, and 6 show this), I would save the white for selected modules only, which will help to guide the eye.

3. I like that the buttons have a slight shadow beneath them, to give depth. I only suggest to take that a step further and highlight the top of the buttons with a brighter line, which will make them pop. Same could go for selected tabs and possibly the larger sections themselves. A single line can go a long way

4. The engines tab header could be handled like the layers tabs currently are, for consistency.

I think that the design is much better than people are giving it credit for however. I liked it right away.

Edit: I also prefer it to Strobe 2 (although I like a darker interface personally). Stay away from the cheesy gradients. Gradients on vector interfaces I've seen are usually done poorly, not sure why. They often remind me of an old Flash game.

PatchAdamz · Post by **PatchAdamz** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 3:39 pm

Well its not very pretty but it can do some important things that no other drum plugin can.
Perhaps the GUI will get updated down the road.

Kenit · Post by **Kenit** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 3:52 pm

Transmod

Apostate · Post by **Apostate** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 4:03 pm

Kenit wrote:Transmod

THIS would be interesting. Is there any more info (besides the gui) on Geist 2?

Muziksculp · Post by **Muziksculp** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 4:33 pm

Apostate wrote:
Kenit wrote:Transmod
THIS would be interesting. Is there any more info (besides the gui) on Geist 2?

Posted on the FxPansion Forums by a FxPansion Member : The plan is to have a few skins, yes.

So, Hopefully this will help make the GUI less annoying, and more comfortable to stare at.

Also posted by FxPansion development member on their Forum, that they expect it early 2016, after a beta version is released.

Oh.. and Thanks to the moderators for moving this topic to Instruments (Where it belongs)

Cheers,
Muziksculp

Robert Randolph · Post by **Robert Randolph** » Fri Oct 09, 2015 4:59 pm

wagtunes wrote:
Dasheesh wrote:First off, this is just a preview of what they are working on as far as I'm aware, so lets save judgment for judgment day. Secondly they have a problem, form vs function, so lets try being constructive instead of destructive. It might be more helpful. Thirdly, I don't know of any other product like it without buying hardware soooo
Then if this isn't the finished design, why would they release a shot of it? What purpose could it possibly serve? It's a lose-lose all the way around.

If people hate this design,they may not give it a chance when it's released. If they like this design and the actual released one is different, they're likely to complain about that.

No good can come out of showing a product before it's actually ready for release.

Getting feedback isn't good?

News from fxpansion >GEIST 2<